Covid-19 has prompted many to reassess what they want from life, and how they want to go about things.  It’s prompted consumers to rethink what they want from the companies they engage with.  It’s prompted employees to reassess what they want from their careers, and from their employers.

As with so much during the pandemic, what was happening before Covid-19 entered our lives has been exacerbated by the events of the last few months, and this is certainly the case when it comes to our desire for purpose in our life.

New research from the Washington University in St. Louis highlights how important personal purpose is, and how it translates into not only higher happiness in general, but also lower stress from the pandemic itself.

The virtues of purpose also translates to organizations, as the researchers found that when organizations had higher-purpose statements, the workforce at those firms also tended to be happier, and were also prouder of the organization.

Wired for purpose

“As human beings, we are wired for purpose–to know why, to seek meaning in the things we do,” the researchers say. “When we have clarity on what our purpose is, we are happier and more fulfilled.”

The researchers surveyed over 1,100 people to understand both their commitment to personal and organizational purpose, and the value they assign to each.

They believe that the findings on the importance of purpose were underlined by the fact that stress and dissatisfaction levels are rising, even during the pre-pandemic period when economic conditions were improving.  They cite figures showing that suicidal thoughts had doubled on college campuses in the last decade as evidence that a personal higher purpose is invaluable in buffering the various stresses we face in life.  Indeed, the data suggests that someone who has been unable to find renewed purpose in life when they retire was 2.4 times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s.

The role of purpose

All of the participants in the survey were employed, and a representative cross section of America’s population was chosen in terms of race, gender and geographic diversity.

“I was most surprised by the fact that when companies have written statements of higher purpose,” the researcher says, “not only do the employees trust its leaders to make socially responsible decisions, but also better business decisions.”

The results revealed that many of the participants felt they had a higher personal purpose, but relatively few of them had actually written this down.  This act of writing it down appeared to help in a range of ways, including finding happiness and coping with stress.

Interestingly, however, those same people also reported higher levels of anxiety, which the researchers believe is consistent with a sense of duty towards a greater good being as much a burden as it is a source of meaning.

The researchers have used their findings to develop a personal higher purpose index, and an organizational higher purpose index, which they hope will allow them to examine changes in both over time.